Continuum
by La Reine Rouge
Summary: Gale is sick and tired of the fuss over the Hunger Games and as usual, finds himself in the forest. But what he doesn't expect is for someone else to find him there too.
1. Chapter 1

**Continuum **

I do not own The Hunger Games. All rights reserved.

Ideas come to me at strange times.

-

District 12 was in an uproar.

Not about food. Not about the injustices of the Capital. Not against Snow or The Games or that ridiculously pink-haired _travesty_, Effie Trinket.

No, they were in a romantic uproar.

All because of those stupid star-crossed lovers from District 12, Peeta Mellark and Katniss Everdeen.

All around the District, people were walking around, fantasizing and sighing and talking about "Katniss's kisses" and "Peeta's bravery" and how "they never even saw it, but you know, that baker always had a thing for Mrs. Everdeen".

It made him sick.

Of course, he was the only one, considering that everyone else was entranced with the Games this year, and especially with the Peeta-Katniss complex.

It seemed like wherever he went, he couldn't get away from the talking and the gossip.

He couldn't take it anymore.

"Did you watch, Gale?" Primrose Everdeen's eyes shone as Gale handed her rabbits, squirrels, and even parts from a grouse. "I think that Katniss'll win! And Peeta too!"

_Yes, Prim, that's lovely. _

"Well I do think, you know, them kids'll win this shindig and bring the moneys back here!" Greasy Sae accepted a few pounds of wild dog and guffawed, exposing her few ill-brushed teeth and her pinkish gums.

_Sure, Sae, just trade the damned meat and have a good fucking day._

Even his mother had joined the dark side.

"Oh Gale," she cried hysterically, holding on to his younger siblings as they crowded around, waiting for him to arrive with food, "I heard today about how Katniss and Peeta have the best odds of surviving! Your childhood friend!"

She dissolved into a round of fresh tears.

_Yes Mom, of course. _

He had to run away, like he had suggested to Katniss that fateful day. These people were driving him insane. He had to go.

But he couldn't leave his family behind. He couldn't go back on his promise to Catnip, that he would make sure that Prim and her mother always would have enough to eat.

He was caught between a rock and a hard place.

Of course, his mind was usually caught on other things. What Catnip was doing. How she was surviving. How the hunt was. If she had been caught kissing that bakery-trained bozo. If she missed him. How he missed her.

His stomach turned. He often missed steps and crunched on leaves and branches, scaring off potential prey. Sometimes, Gale couldn't even bring himself near the forest, for fear that the animals surrounding him would suddenly take on her features, reminding him even more of her.

After days of hearing the shrieks of happiness from District 12 and frightening off rabbits, he returned to the forest. However, he tripped and fell, producing a loud and startled groan of pain. He clutched his ankle, and then rotated it. As the minutes went on, it hurt less and less, yet he couldn't believe he had just screwed up his hunt for today. It was the last straw. He would do it. He was going to run away. He tenderly lifted himself up and raised his eyes towards the ceiling of trees. He stood, facing the forest and away from his district, his head in his hands, backed against the fence, which, predictably, was turned off.

"Are you okay?"

A shy voice rang through the forest, and for a moment, he thought it was Prim. But Prim would never come near the forest; much less approach him in a moment such as this.

He immediately composed himself and turned around, ready to bark at whoever came to bother him. His hackles immediately rose when he saw the blonde girl with the heartbreakingly deep blue eyes, dressed in as close to District 1 fashions as her father could probably afford.

"Go away," he growled.

"Are you alright? You seem hurt." She attempted to peer at him through the other side of the fence.

"I said I was fine," he grumbled.

"Actually, you didn't. You said to go away."

"Madge Undersee," he said quietly, "Wouldn't your father just about rather _die_ than see his precious angel near these here dangerous parts, especially with _common-folk_ like me? In the Seam?" Gale clucked his tongue sarcastically and began harvesting roots.

"You're the one looking for death, Gale Hawthorne, with all the dangers on the other side of this fence," her slender fingers gripped the fence. "And anyways, why am I not being electrocuted?"

"Did you come to ask questions or to harass me? Because you're doing an exceptional job at both," he commented crossly. "This _son of a bitch _fence has not been on since I was 12."

"Really? Why?" Her doe eyes widened as she struggled to get as close to him as the fence allowed.

"Because this _son of a bitch _place doesn't have any electricity for the citizens, much less for this stupid fence."

"You like saying that curse, don't you?"

"When you have such a limited vocabulary as we here poor folks, sometimes you have to use words like that," he replied hotly.

Madge remained silent for a moment.

"Gale, maybe you should-"

"Well you know my name, do you?" He asked. "I'm _honored._"

"Of course I know your name. We're mutual friends of Katniss, which makes us friends in a weird sort of way."

He stopped to heave his sack over his shoulder with a grunt.

"I don't have any friends, Miss Undersee. I'm a loner. Now, can you please back off before I _really_ lose my temper?"

The only audible noise was that of some rabbits on the side.

"The forest is dangerous. Isn't it?" She asked timidly.

Gale scoffed.

"Of course it's not. That's some kind of hogwash that the Peacekeepers feed us in order to keep us from feeding our families."

"Isn't it illegal to cross the fence?" She asked quietly.

"Why yes, yes it is," Gale mocked surprise. "Why don't you call your father or a Peacekeeper and you can keep me chained by my pinky fingers from the ceiling for my heinous crimes?"

Madge stepped away, hurt.

"I would never tell on you."

"Of course you wouldn't," he replied irritably. "Now go be a good little rich girl and throw a society luncheon or something. Hurry along now, before you forget your gloves." He turned back to the forest, the leaves crunching under his boots as he walked.

There was another moment of crisp silence, and suddenly, Madge Undersee exploded in a ball of cold fury.

"Listen to me, Gale Hawthorne, and you listen clearly. I may be lucky enough to have a few more luxuries, but the point is, I live in District 12 just as much as you do, and I'm just as alone as you are. Do you know what today is? My birthday. Do you know who cares? No one except my father, but he can't help me because he has to work to keep this stupid government afloat. Why aren't I with my friends?" –at this point, her voice gained a hysterical edge- "Because I don't have any friends! I'm just a much of a loner as you are. I see you're a loner! I know your only friend was Katniss! She was my only friend too! I get to roam the streets by myself, because no one will talk to me! Everyone thinks that because I'm the Mayor's daughter, I'm arrogant, bossy, and support Snow. But it's not true!" At this, she collapsed into a pile of angry tears.

Gale was shocked at the sudden spewing of information. Maybe she was on her period. Maybe she was trying to garner his sympathy. Or maybe, just maybe, she was being real and finally needed to dissolve with someone. He pushed the last thought out of his mind, locking Nice Gale in a closet and threatening to pummel him if he ever made a reappearance in his mind ever again. Madge looked pathetic, crumpled on the ground, with her Gale tried to ignore her and keep walking, but something about her vulnerability reminded her of his own siblings, his mother, and even Prim. So despite his better rationality, he approached the fence, slid under it expertly, and sat beside her.

"You can go," she sobbed, "Don't feel pity for the poor little rich girl."

"Oh trust me, I'm not. But I will not, however, leave you besides this fence near this forest," he said shortly. "So get up and let's start walking and," he trailed off.

After a few minutes of sniffling, Madge cleared her throat.

"Gale," she said shakily. "I'm not going to tell on you."

It took all of his effort to not lash out with an _Of course not! I'd make you my prey if you planned to_ and instead say "Thank you very much."

"If-" She began

_Shit, the conditional tense._

"You take me into the forest tomorrow."

Gale let out a string of curses in the key of F under his breath and silently weighed his options. He could either refuse and then potentially battle off accusations, keeping his family starving, or he could let her accompany him tomorrow and she could watch him gut and clean a rabbit. That would certainly scare her off away from the forest.

"Fine," he agreed reluctantly, hoisting himself up. "Tomorrow. Be here at about 6 A.M." It was time for early-morning hunting.

Madge wiped her face one more time and stood up to face him. "Okay."

Gale silently led her off away from the forest, cursing himself for attracting Murphy's Law at its finest. Obviously, the fates had it out for him. When they reached Main Street and he turned towards his shack, she whispered a good-bye. Before he even knew what he was saying, he turned around and said:

"And happy birthday, by the way."

Madge's face lit up.  
>Gale kicked himself all the way home.<p>

Should I continue? Or should I leave this as a one-shot? (:


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own The Hunger Games. All rights reserved.

Thank you so much for the positive feedback for the first chapter! Every alert and review I get brings a smile to my face. Thank you!

-x-

_She won't show_, Gale Hawthorne said to himself confidently. He checked his watch, the only thing that his father had ever left him besides burdens. _5:59._

He grinned at the dark, looming forest, feeling triumphant that Little Miss Muffet had either chickened out or had been caught. His smirk turned into a frown. If she got caught, that meant she would be squawking out names. He began to nervously tap on his poor-quality watch, wondering if she had already tattled and he was secretly being watched on camera.

_Well, I might as well moon them if they're watching-_

A sudden flash of light caught his eye, and then it flickered suspiciously. He got out his hunting supplies, feeling more than ready to respond to any possible attack. He backed against the fence, trying to see the most out of his peripherals, in case anyone was coming.

The light flickered again, accompanied by a thumping noise, and suddenly, one hand reaching up and waving.

_This girl obviously lacks common sense, _he inwardly groaned. _Well, at least if she scares off all the game, I can come back later by myself. _

"Hi!" She approached him, turning off the flashlight (which was poor quality to anyone in the Capital, but it seemed like a total luxury to Gale, whose family had rarely had electricity, if ever).

"Well now that you've let our location be known to just about every damned citizen of Panem thanks to your handy dandy light container," Gale snapped, "we can move."

Madge Undersee's face fell notably. "I brought it… To help… I thought that if we could _see things_, it would make it easier."

"Yes, it would, if we were going on a luxurious camping trip to District 6," Gale said sarcastically.

"Why District 6?"

"You know what I mean!" He yelled, sending a flock of birds far away.

There was a beat of quiet before Madge answered, "You know, if my flashlight didn't scare everything in this forest off, _that _probably did."

Sending her a dirty look, Gale smoothed his face with his fingers and then crouched down next to the fence, making sure to stop to listen in the rare case that the fence was turned on. Of course it wasn't. He shimmied underneath the loose spot in the fence, smeared the dust off his pants, and faced Madge with a half-smile.

She ogled the fence and the floor with timid blue eyes that brightened and then darkened.

"Do you mean… That I have to go through that?" She asked, half in awe, half-terrified.

"No, actually, there are side doors with screens over there with the curtains. I just prefer getting dirty and risking a cut. Of course you have to go through it, Undersee, come on, even _I _thought better of you than asking that question," Gale replied testily.

She stared at the fence, making a lopsided circle with her boot. Gale turned his head critically and stared at her shoes. Actually, he stared at her entire outfit, which consisted of a simple tunic, dark pants, and hunting boots. Despite himself, he had to applaud her for not coming to the forest in a party dress and a pair of heels.

Madge stuck her fingernail in her mouth and then lowered herself down the ground. Gale, on the opposite side of the fence, crouched down to be at eye-level with her.

"Come on," he goaded, "Unless you're too chicken to come in?"

_Gale, why are you giving her fake threats? You don't want her to come in, right? That was a stupid thing to say. _

"No, of course not," she shook her head, her blonde ponytail swishing like the manes of the horses that drove the Hunger Games chariots. When Gale drew the comparison, his stomach flip-flopped.

"I'm guessing the ponytail has to go," she laughed nervously, pulling it out and shaking her head. "Alright, well, here we go."

She wriggled her lithe body underneath the fence, popping out almost effortlessly, until her boot caught on the fence.

"Gale!" She cried out almost instinctively, before she wiggled her shoe out.

_Listen, miss, we are certainly not at the "call my name if you are a damsel in distress" stage yet, don't get yourself excited._

"Are you okay?" He asked gruffly, pretending to sharpen his already-sharp knives.

"Yes, I think so," she pulled her hair back into the ponytail. "What grand tour are you giving me?"

"Grand tour?" He looked at her like she was crazy. "We're going hunting, not flower-picking!"

If Madge had problems with the eventual death of small, furry animals, she definitely did not let Gale see this. Her rigid poker face kept him almost transfixed, and he shook his hair out of his eyes and started walking. Madge leapt over small twigs and stones to keep up with his fast pace.

"Can you slow down?" She panted after a few minutes of this.

"Can't handle it?" He asked loftily, but he slowed down considerably.

Upon several yards of spotting a hare, he stopped abruptly and turned to her, much closer to her than he would have liked at this point, but necessities were necessities.

"Do you see that? That's a hare," he muttered quietly.

"No, Gale, it's obviously an ox."

Not accustomed to hearing his brand of sarcasm coming out of anyone else's mouth, he smiled despite himself. "Shut up. That hare is my next victim. You stay here, and you step on a leaf or breathe to loud and I will bring _you _home to my family instead of that hare."

"You're already bringing me home to meet your family? Well, well, am I honored," she teased lightheartedly.

He shot her a look and advanced. A second later, he had grabbed the hare and broke its neck. He could see Madge wince, and he grinned at her discomfort. "See?" He shook the prey triumphantly, setting it down with the proper tools, ready to gut and split up.

Upon the first slash of the knife, he heard a whispered "No!" from behind him. He turned around, positioning the knife over the kill.

Madge was backing up into a tree, staring at the hare with _were those tears? Oh God, you know Katniss never cried. Fuck, fuck, fuck. _

"What's wrong?" Gale asked, assuming a bored tone of voice in order to not let her know she was pulling at all the wrong strings.

"Nothing, nothing. It's just… gory." She swallowed a lump in her throat and then covered her eyes with her small hands. "You can continue if you wish."

As Gale made his decision, he weighed the options. He could either leave his family hungry or leave this girl with nightmares. He decided for the second, and finished the job as quickly as he could.

"Are, are you done?" She asked shyly.

"No." He said wryly, picking up his bags again.

"Oh, okay."

"I'm joking. I'm done," he simpered at her and then continued walking.

They continued in this fashion for approximately an hour, with Gale catching two squirrels and a rabbit, besides harvesting some fruits and roots. Madge was taken with everything that she had seen, and kept stooping to pick up berries and turning them over in the palm of her hands.

"Gale?" Madge asked quietly.

"Yes, Madge?" He sighed, blowing the dark hair out of his grey eyes and turning to face her.

"I um, well, uh, I have to, um…"

"Stutter profusely? Yes, you've accomplished this goal."

"No, I have to," her cheeks flushed, "Use the bathroom."

"Well," Gale spread his arms apart and spun around once, "There's the bathroom."

Madge turned an even brighter shade of pink, which made her eyes seem all that more blue, especially as the sun glittered in her eyes.

"I promise I won't look," he turned around, placed his forehead on a tree, and covered his eyes, feeling stupid for playing the little kid games of 'no looking!'

She must have nodded and proceeded, because after a few minutes, she said, "Okay, I'm done. Thank you for not looking."

He turned around, feeling the mark that the bark had left on his firmly-pressed forehead, and nodded. Wordlessly, he walked several yards forward, landing at the lake where he and Katniss had spent so much time together.

"Wow," Madge breathed. "It's beautiful."

And it was. The birds were chirping obnoxiously, the water glittered enough to make you blind, and the sun radiated its warmth and dangerous rays down on the skin of victims, enough to make them burn or at least grow darker.

Gale perched himself on a half-log that he had always used as a seat, and Madge slid in next to her. Gale looked up at the sky.

"It's going to rain later," he pronounced to no one in particular.

"Are you sure? It looks so beautiful, I can't imagine it raining," she responded, turning to face him in such close proximity that he felt as if he were talking to a pair of sky-blue eyes.

"Well, you see those clouds? They're darker at the bottoms, which means that they're most likely going to drop huge, fat droplets of water all over you, me, and this beautiful place." He searched through his bag, split a loaf of grainy bread in two, and handed one piece to Madge. After devouring it, he took some fruit and handed her some very familiar fruits.

"Strawberries!" She said in awe. "I hadn't even seen them," she said, dipping the berry in the water to clean it and then popping one into her mouth.

"Of course not, you had your head in the clouds," he said, but not maliciously.

"I love strawberries. So does my father. I think they're the only thing he eats at home. He's starting to smell like them."

"What, pray tell, does a strawberry smell like?" Gale pressed one against his nose.

"You know what I mean," she waved him off. "But my father has such annoying eating tendencies…"

"Well at least you have one," Gale responded suddenly, surprising himself and Madge. "My father died a few years back, and I'd kill to have one now, even one that smelled of strawberries."

"I'm sorry," Madge said quietly.

"It's not your fault," he said dismissively.

There was a moment of silence when the only noise heard was the water lapping on the ground softly.

"Gale?"

"Hmm?"

"Thanks for bringing me out here."

"No problem. Anytime."

He mentally punched himself in the jaw for the invitation.

"I know you don't really like me… Actually, you kind of hate me. So it was really nice of you to bring me with you," she stared at the ground.

A noise was heard far away, back at the Seam, but he ignored it.

"I don't hate you," he said, the words flowing out of him before he could stop himself. "I mean, you'd report me, wouldn't you?" He smirked to himself.

She shook her head, the blonde tendrils floating around her face as she lifted her eyes up to look at him.

Gale warned himself to not continue this conversation. He felt like a girl exposing her feelings to her best friend. This was getting ridiculous.

"Well, what do you say we head back before your father starts wondering how you even got here?" He stood up, brushed his pants off, and then extended a hand to help her up.

"Okay," she smiled and then briskly followed him. "Thanks again."

"Listen, it's okay," he said as they approached the fence. He allowed a smile to grow on his lips before he stopped suddenly and abruptly, his face horrified and his mouth open.

"Gale? Gale?" Madge pulled on him. "What's wrong?"

"Shhh," he said harshly. "Do you hear that?"

Madge paused, rubbed her ear, and then frowned. "Some annoying buzzing sound."

"Not just any annoying buzzing sound," he muttered through clenched teeth. "The fence's annoying buzzing sound."

"But you said that it hadn't been on since you were a kid," she wrenched her hands together. "What are we going to do? Are we going to get electrocuted?"

"Of course not, if we don't touch it," he backed away and paced. "Shit, did they know we were here?"

And then he heard it. The yells, the clamor, the excitement, the whispering gossips. He had impeccable hearing, thanks to a lifetime of hunting, and he could make out a few sentences. Apparently Katniss had gotten on the Capital's bad side by showing off a fellow tribute's innocence and her lack of a reason to die. Apparently, Peacekeepers were coming to District 12 just to prove a lesson.

"Fuck." He said simply, sitting back down. "How long will we be here?" He asked no one.

"What do we do?" Madge sat next to him, huddled. He would've pushed her off, but all the air had been sucked out of him.

"What else do we do? We wait."


	3. Chapter 3

I do not own the Hunger Games. All rights reserved.

Thank you so much for the reviews, alerts, favorites, etc. They make me really, really happy, like you have no idea. Thank you for taking the time to read and for really enjoying it. I love to write, and I can only hope people love (or at least like!) what I write. Sorry for the late update!

-x-

For one hour, Gale Hawthorne had been listening to the endless, ominous buzz of the fence in front of him.

For one hour, he had been sitting next to Madge Undersee, stiff as a stone.

For one hour, he had cursed Panem, Madge, Katniss, that stupid Muffin Man who she was with, Peacekeepers, Snow, his father for leaving him a _sonofabitch _watch that barely worked, District 12 in general, and himself.

For one hour, his ears had been filled with the noise of the fence, Madge's rapid breathing, and the rare sound of the birds.

He couldn't take it anymore.

"How long…How long do you think that we'll be here?" Madge's large eyes seemed to get even wider.

_Feminine predatory tricks, _Gale assumed.

"Well, let's consult the schedule of fence electricity, shall we?" He raised his voice an octave. "Hmm, it seems like it's everlasting, doesn't it?"

"I just, figured… You'd been in this forest before, right?"

"No, Madge, I enjoy taking random people on random walks in places that I have never ventured to. The risk of a snake bite, a swarm of bees swarming in on me, or sinking in quicksand is delightful to even consider."

"No need for the sarcasm," she began biting her thumbnail anxiously. "I was just trying to pass time. See, it's passing quickly already! I bet a whole fifteen minutes have passed since we started talking!"

Even Gale didn't have the heart to tell her that they had been talking for barely a minute. Poor girl obviously had no sense of time. Or space. Or anything.

Gale sighed, running a hand through his hair and then craning his neck so that he could look at the sky.

"Look at the birds," Madge said, delighted, "Look at their wings! They're almost as large as the bodies themselves!"

"Really fascinating," Gale muttered, turning his eyes back to the fence. He then hunched his shoulders and faced forward, squinting. He thought that his eyes were fooling him, but unfortunately, he was blessed with 20/20 vision. He caught sight of three men wearing the white uniforms that most Panem citizens were familiar with. But these Peacekeepers weren't any of the ones that stopped at the Hob or traipsed down the Seam nervously or sashayed flamboyantly down Main Street. These Peacekeepers had the trained, serious faces of professionals.

And they were headed straight for the forest.

Straight towards the fence.

Straight towards _them._

"Come on," Gale grabbed Madge's wrist in a sudden motion and ran towards the deep forest, sailing over logs and twigs, crunching over leaves, and being careful to not shock the birds enough to draw attention.

"Where are we going?" Madge struggled against his tight grip, but Gale held on tighter. "Are you crazy?"

"Yes," he shouted over his shoulder as he continued darting throughout the woods in a zig-zag pattern, "I'm crazy for dragging us both into this situation in the first place!" At that, he lost his balance and tripped over a stupid _sonofabitch _stone and fell, pulling Madge with him.

"Are you okay? I'm clumsy, I'm sorry." Gale's eyes darted around the forests, but nothing could be seen.

Madge brushed herself off and stood up. Leaves had somehow made their way into her blonde tendrils, but she managed to look even daintier than usual. "I'm okay. Are you?"

Gale didn't even respond. His breathing was heavier than he would've liked it to be, and his heart was beating almost painfully. His eyes darted around, from side to side, and he tried to keep as still as possible. Briefly, he wondered if Katniss would have had any idea what to do. With a wry smile, he figured that she would have done some expert trick and jumped from a branch to the other side of the fence without missing a beat. Katniss could do those things. He shook his head.

A few minutes passed.

"Are…Are we safe?" Madge brushed drops of water from her forehead tentatively.

"I don't know," Gale replied, too preoccupied to busy himself with giving her a Socratic answer in return. "I…hope so?"

Madge peered up at the dark sky. "I hope so too. It's getting really dark." She tried to keep the worry out of her voice. "Is it really that late?"

Gale looked up at the cloudy sky. "No, it's not. It's going to rain."

Not two seconds after he uttered the sentence, a loud clap of thunder rocked the forest, the ground, Madge, and Gale. Drops began falling like heavy clumps, knocking down leaves and sending acorns tumbling to the ground in an unattractive fashion.

Madge tried to cover her head, and followed Gale, rushing underneath a tree where only a few steady streams of water coated them.

For a moment, they just stood there, looking at the heavy downpour of water and silently wondering how long it would last.

"In District 12," Gale announced to no one in particular, "Nothing lasts long. Even the rain. I expect it to be over within half an hour at the most."

Madge simply nodded. For the next half hour, they watched the rain grow steadily heavier, and the leaves began falling on top of them and allowing water to seep through. Neither of them dared to try another tree. All of them looked completely sopping wet. Gale just hoped that they were far away enough from the lake, just in case it decided to flood all of a sudden.

"What happens if my dad sends out people looking for me?" Madge wondered aloud.

"Jeez, well at least your parents won't be starving because you never got back home," Gale replied angrily, settling himself against the cold trunk of the tree.

To his surprise, Madge patted him tenderly on the arm.

"I'm sure someone will help them for today," she said simply.

"Listen, Undersee, if the world was that nice, we wouldn't be in this situation. There would be no fence. There would be no hunting. There would be no worries, no deaths, no friends sent off to their deaths, no Games, no starvation, no illness, no nothing," he raised his voice. "There would be no father that dies and leaves an eldest son with his dried-up mother and his five siblings to take care of. There would be no mother who coughs and coughs and wants only the best for her son but can't give a single damned thing to him. There would be no little brothers and sisters coming to the eldest one's feet begging him for more food. There would be no little baby dying because of lack of food. No, Undersee, the world is not that nice. The world chews you up and spits you up. Alive or dead."

Madge stayed quiet for a moment.

"Do you blame your father for everything?" She asked, turning to him.

"What are you, one of those Capitol psychologist nutjobs?" He scoffed. "No, I don't blame him for everything. I blame this stupid _sonofabitch _government for everything."

Another pause.

"I do too."

"What did you say?" Gale thought that a sudden clap of thunder had muffled her words.

"I blame the government too," she said softly, "for taking away my father's life outside of his career."

She left it at that, and Gale thought it best not to probe into her life, as he had snapped at her for entering in his life.

"Are you hungry?" He asked.

"No," she lied, just as her stomach growled.

"Alright come on, just because I'm common doesn't mean I'm stupid."

"I don't think you're common."

"Well I do," Gale lifted himself up. "Fuck. All the wildlife is scared off. We'll have to deal with fruits and grains for now." He looked at the curtain of rain and dove off, coming back soaking wet minutes later with a full bag of berries, vegetation, and nuts.

"You're all wet," Madge observed.

"No, I'm toasty dry." He shook his dark hair and stripped off his wet jacket, flinging it against the tree.

They ravenously dug into the supply, not bothering to leave anything for later. The growling noises in their stomachs stopped, and they were once again faced with the rain. More importantly, they now had to face their shivers, once clouded by their hunger pangs.

"Is it just me, or is it freezing?" Gale pulled on his soaking jacket again, which was now cold _and _wet. He touched his hair, surprised by how icy it felt.

Madge shivered in response. They both sat for moments, grabbing their bodies together and trying in vain to warm themselves up.

"You know what they say?" Madge said.

"That if we cuddle, our body heat will increase? Yes, I know. Not willing to prove that theory correct," Gale clasped his body and took off his jacket again, pulling it off and vainly trying to wring out the water. A few drops came out, but that was it.

They sat in silence, absorbed in their own thoughts. When Gale tried to look at his watch again, it was way too late, and he wondered how time had passed so quickly.

"Shit. It's late."

"I figured," Madge yawned, her arms shaking involuntarily. "Do you think I can go to sleep?"

"Sure, it's not like we're getting any visitors anytime soon." Gale muttered, throwing a pebble into the rain absentmindedly.

"Okay. Well, good night. Wake me if anything," she said, her voice fading. She laid down, closed her eyes, and faced him, tucking her hands under her head like a porcelain doll.

Gale nodded in response. He had to admit it: The girl was doing abnormally well for living such a spoiled life as a little twit and then coming into the forest and getting trapped here with a guy she barely knew. She was holding up. She was a trooper. Just like Katniss.

Just like himself.

He looked over at her. She shivered, with white gusts of breath coming out of her mouth. Something about her made her look so prettily pathetic that his own breath caught.

Before he could rethink what he was doing, he slid down next to her, facing the treetops, and put one arm around her. She must have not been completely asleep, because she sensed him and got closer to him, lying on top of his right arm for support, and slung an arm around his chest, her breathing even.

_The cold must be making me delusional_, Gale said to himself immediately. _This is insane. I barely know this chick. We are most certainly not at the "wrap your arms around me" stage. Dammit, we shouldn't even be at the first-name stage. Damn it, we shouldn't be at any stage at this point._

He wondered what would happen if and if they didn't get out. If they got out, it would end up in an awkward situation. They would maybe see each other once in a blue moon, nod at each other, and keep walking. OR she would assume that they were friends and tag along with him every time he came hunting. If they didn't get out, what would happen? He allowed his imagination to wander. Maybe the fence would stay on forever. Madge could sew them new clothes. He could hunt everyday and collect nuts and berries and fish and water from the lake. He was strong enough to use bark to make makeshift beds. Who knows? Maybe they'd become friends. Maybe best friends. Maybe, if the moon hit her face in the right way and his streak of imagination got the best of him, they could be-

_Gale Hawthorne, you hormone-driven bitch. Shut the fuck up and don't let your mind wander, _he scolded himself, looking down at her in the crazy possibility that he might have been speaking out loud. _You're being ridiculous. You're going to get out of here. Dammit, when this sonofabitch rain stops, you march your asses back down to the fence and beat the shit out of a Peacekeeper if you have to. You will be getting out of here. Don't make foolish thoughts._

Despite his inner rationalizations, however, Gale was left with a sinking feeling. The feeling that he would not be completely horrified to be stuck in a forest with Madge Undersee forever.


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you, as always, for reading and commenting! More reviews make me want to write more quickly!

I do not own The Hunger Games, Gale Hawthorne, Madge Undersee, etc. All rights reserved.

-x-

When Madge Undersee woke up, Gale Hawthorne was still in the adorable position he had been in when she had been drifting off to sleep. One arm, that had most definitely fallen asleep under the weight of her head, was still around her. His eyelashes, she noticed, were so thick, they got tangled in one another. He looked so, so _gentle _when he was asleep, that Madge felt an almost maternal instinct arise in her.

She combed through her damp hair with her fingers and stared at the world. The rain had slowed to a trickle, and Gale was certain to want to move the second he woke up.

Madge gave a sad smile as she studied him further. Even though they were technically trapped in the forest and the rain and cold had been overwhelming, these had been the best two days of her life. She hadn't known what it was like to have a friend. To go to the forest. To hunt. To spend time with someone in this intimate way.

Even though he'd deny it vehemently, she was pretty sure he was at least contented. She racked her brain – she hadn't done anything stupid or anything worthy of embarrassment… And even though he probably still didn't _like_ her, maybe he wouldn't spew angry words at her ever again.

She was actually gloomy that the adventure had ended. She didn't dare move, reveling in these few minutes.

She supposed she had inhaled or exhaled or blinked too forcefully, however, because after five or ten minutes, Gale roused himself up, shaking the sleep from his eyes.

"Morning, sleepyhead."

Gale ignored her comment and ran a hand through his hair. "What time is it?" He examined the half-broken watch and groaned. "How long have you been awake?" He suddenly realized where his arm was and snaked it back to his side, sitting up with a jolt.

"Well, considering that I don't have a clock, I can't answer the first question. I can estimate the second and say, oh, I don't know, a minute?" Madge lied.

"Oh. Well, you would have woken me up if you had woken up earlier, right?" He looked at her, those gray eyes seeming to look right through her.

"Absolutely," she crossed her fingers behind her back and sat up next to him.

He peered up at the sky. "Well, the rain is just about done, and it looks to be about dawn… I think we should head back to the fence. Nothing, not even the electrical fence, lasts very long in District 12."

Madge tried to hide her disappointment and nodded, looking at the ground.

"Hold on, stay here." He leapt up and left her in the ceaseless rumble of her own thoughts for a good half hour, returning with nuts, berries, and even a grouse.

"A real gourmet meal," Madge ventured to joke.

Gale gave her a look that was neither friendly nor malicious, as if trying to decode the meaning. At the last second, just when Madge wanted to die of embarrassment, he cracked a small half-smile. "Gourmet indeed. Dig in."

After cleaning and cooking the grouse and sharing everything else, Gale picked himself up and tentatively extended a hand to Madge.

"I guess it's time to go," Madge said, trying to disguise her sadness as weariness by yawning profusely.

"Yup. I'm surprised that your father hasn't been out her with a search warrant from the _sonofabitch _Capitol at this point," he replied.

_I am too, _she thought. She didn't dare voice her thoughts, however.

They faced the direction of the fence and began walking slowly, Gale stopping every few meters to check for any strange sounds.

"Sorry about the whole getting locked in the forest," Gale said, not sounding very sorry at all, "It happens once in a blue moon, and I guess you just happened to be here for it."

"It's fine," Madge bit her thumbnail and continued walking.

"You surprised me, you really did," Gale smirked, surprising himself with his words.

"Really? Why?" Madge turned to face him, barely avoiding tripping over a rock.

"I thought the second you saw me kill that rabbit, you were going to puke and then run out of here crying for home, frills, and tea sets."

She dared to jab at him with her finger. "Listen, I've never even seen a genuine tea set. The fancy ones that the Capitol has. And of course I wouldn't run out of here."

"Really now?" Gale mocked surprise. "Why is that?"

"I wouldn't have known the direction to get there and would've ended up in the mouth of a saber-toothed tiger.

At this, Gale threw back his head and laughed, a rich sound that surprised Madge by the amount of genuineness in it.

"I have never seen a tiger. I've seen a couple of wild dogs though. That counts, doesn't it?"

"Sure, if it makes you feel braver."

Gale turned to shoot her a look and continued walking.

"What would you have actually done if we had met up with a tiger?" Madge questioned.

"Saved you, obviously," he said, kicking a twig as he walked.

"I thought you hated me."

"I do. But if I let a tiger eat you, I can't play the role of the hero saving the damsel in distress. Come on, imagine it? Instead of those stupid Games and President Icebox, I'll be on the front page for _Saving Innocent Blonde Girl with Doe Eyes from Saber-Toothed Villain_. Come on. It's perfect."

"What?" Madge exclaimed, secretly thrilled to be prying words out of the elusive, reclusive Gale. "I'm not a damsel in distress, and I certainly don't need saving."

"Sure," he scoffed, "but when it's you against a four hundred pound tiger, let's see who's screaming my name for help."

"Oh please. You'd never let me live it down."

He chuckled to himself. "Well, you'd be right, but never letting you live it down would mean being in your face about it every day. I don't plan to see you every day."

"Why not?" Madge tried to play off like she was teasing.

"Well…" Gale stopped and searched his mind for an answer. "I have to get food for my family, which I actually got when I got _us _food." He patted his knapsack.

"What if I come with you?"

"What if the sky turns pink?" Gale shot back. "Not on my watch."

"But I'm good company… And maybe, I mean, you could use a partner?"

His mind was filled with images of Katniss having his back, interspersed with images of her kissing the Baker's Son. He shook his head to rid himself of the disgusting images and then continued at a quicker pace. He heard Madge behind him trying to catch up.

"What's wrong?"

"What do you mean what's wrong?" He growled, keeping his vision focused on the "path" ahead.

"You just got this crazy look in your eyes and are now stomping around, not being very quiet if you ask me," Madge protested.

Gale stopped suddenly and settled himself on a log, burying his face in his hands.

"I think," he said slowly, enunciating the words, "I hate Katniss. I really, truly do."

Madge settled down next to him. "You don't hate Katniss," she said softly. "She's your best friend."

"I hate her," he plucked off a low-level branch and started taking the leaves and crumpling them. "And that stupid boy she got reaped with."

"Peeta? He's a nice boy. Frosts really nicely," she offered weakly. "Are you," she stopped, moistened her mouth, and continued, "jealous of him?"

"Of that _sonofabitch_? No. Am I angry that he has my only friend? Abso-fucking-lutely."

There was a moment of silence as insects buzzed by.

"Gale," Madge said softly. "You have other friends."

"Thom and that group, yes," he brushed off the notion. "But none to the extent that Katniss is-_was_."

"I'm your friend too."

"You're just saying that," he grumbled, crunching a leaf between his fingers.

"Honestly," she turned towards him, "These have been the best two days I've had in my whole life. A chance at freedom. At happiness. Gale, spending time with you has actually been fun," she admitted bluntly.

He stopped to look at her and smile, though his eyes weren't completely in it.

"Well," he said finally, "That was," he struggled to find words, "one of the nicest things anyone has said to me in quite the while."

Madge pulled her knees up to her chest, balancing gingerly on the log, and buried her face in her knees so he wouldn't see her turn red.

"Sorry about… well, you know… everything," Gale offered.

"I'm sorry too."

"You don't have anything to be sorry about," Gale said, surprised.

"I mean, I kind of harassed you to bring me here," Madge said lamely. "And because of me, we were stuck here the whole night."

Gale shook his head.

"Nah. I would have been stuck here anyways. Thanks for the company." He heaved himself up and continued walking. Madge followed him quietly before whispering a "_no problem._"

They walked in silence.

When they were just approaching the fence, Gale stopped, and then his face slowly cracked a grin. "The electricity is off." After scanning the meadow with his sharp eyes, he realized that the Peacekeepers were gone too.

"Ready?" He turned around to ask Madge.

She looked up at him and smiled wanly. "When you are."

"You should go first," Gale said mildly, waiting until she shimmied under the loose spot in the fence until he crawled after her.

"Well. This certainly had to be –" he stopped suddenly, hearing noises that were inevitably the sound of white, poor-quality Peacekeeper boots.

"What do we do?" Madge's eyes searched his face.

He was trapped. They couldn't shimmy back into the forest and hide in time. They also couldn't hide in the grass, which was short and stubby. Running towards the Meadow would certainly lead to an interrogation on why they were over here. He heard the Peacekeepers coming closer and closer. They were certainly doomed now. His heart sank. His family's food was in his knapsack, and they were without a plan. If he got arrested… They'd be done. Dead. And Prim and Mrs. Everdeen as well. Sweet little Prim. He searched for an idea quickly. None came.

"Fuck. I have no clue," he said quietly.

"Quick! I have an idea," Madge said, jumping on him and tackling him to the ground so that his knapsack was effectively hidden.

Before Gale could even fathom what the heck she was doing, she pressed her lips on his enthusiastically.

"HEY, YOU KIDS." A Peacekeeper, who wasn't as cool and calm as he got closer and closer, yelled out. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING OVER THERE?"

As he got closer, he stopped and retreated in shock and embarrassment.

"Oh!" Madge said, feigning surprise but not moving. "We were just-"

"Adding to the overpopulation?" One of them grumbled, still pink in the face. "Alright, alright, get up."

At this, they both froze. How the heck were they going to avoid questioning on the knapsack?

"Madge, why don't I give you a piggy-back ride?"

The Peacekeeper rolled his eyes. "Don't come back here anytime soon," he growled, "Or I'll make sure you're punished."

"Sure, Galey Waley," she made her voice as high-pitched as possible, enjoying Gale's wince. She hopped on his back easily and he carried her as quickly as possible out of the Meadow and into the Seam. At this, she slid off his back and looked at him.

"Galey Waley? Really? What was that?" He stared at her dumbfoundedly.

"It was the only thing I could think of."

"So you were thinking of kissing me?" He said, raising an eyebrow.

"No, I mean, yeah I, no, no, no. I wasn't."

Gale grinned at her with a superior, smug smile plastered on his face. "You're turning red in the face."

"Your eyes might be going bad, Mr. Hawthorne."

"Pity."

They walked silently towards her house.

"Thank you again for bringing me."

"It's nothing."

At her doorstep, he was surprised to see all the lights turned off. He would've thought the mayor would have cared more about where his daughter was. He waited for the search warrant.

"Well then," he said awkwardly. "I guess this is where we say good-bye."

"I guess so," Madge said, keeping the dejection out of her face.

And then, when she least expected it, he leaned forward and gently brushed her hair from her forehead with his hand.

He retracted his hand suddenly, shocked with himself just as much as Madge was shocked.

"Alright then. I'll see you soon, Undersee," Gale smile-smirked, and turned on his heel.

Madge just stood in the doorframe for long after he was out of her line of vision.


	5. Chapter 5

Every review this story receives makes me grin, it really does. To know that people like the plot and the way I write is incredibly awesome! 

As usual, I do not own The Hunger Games, Gale Hawthorne, Madge Undersee, etc.

-x- 

Days had passed since Gale Hawthorne had dropped Madge Undersee off at her home after their two days of being in the forest together.

Madge was, to put it lightly, a little antsy.

She randomly wandered up and down the steps of her home, half-waiting, half-hoping that Gale would show up out of nowhere, covered in dirt and grass, with that cocky smirk he was so fond of, and call, "Hey Undersee, how going out to the forest again? Or are you too scared of the tigers?"

Or maybe he'd show up like one of the characters on the Capitol novellas that she once saw, wearing some fancy suit called a tuxedo and flowers, asking her to the town dance.

Now she knew she was being ridiculous. She doubted even the wealthiest people in District 12 could afford the fabric to make a tuxedo, there hadn't been a town dance since the revolution, and Gale certainly wouldn't ask her even if the other circumstances fit.

He hated her, she thought miserably.

_Or did he?_

She often laid awake in bed, staring at the ceiling, wondering why she cared so much that the good-looking (_she had to accept it!_) hunter hadn't returned. She hadn't expected him to come back. After all, she had practically forced herself upon him to take her into the forest, which led into a bag of tricks and surprises. And then she had kissed him.

A blush crept on her cheeks as she reminded herself that she was trying to conceal food that would keep his family alive, and trying to come up with a good excuse for them being so close to the fence. They could have been star-crossed lovers, like Peeta and Katniss.

This inner monologue always brought on the twists in her stomach brought on by the most realistic thoughts she had.

_Maybe Gale was in love with Katniss. He must be devastated to see her in love with Peeta,_ she mused disappointedly, _if he loved her._

I mean, granted, she had no clue if he was in love with Katniss, but she _had _seen him getting upset thinking of Katniss. They had been hunting partners, best friends, and gosh knows what could have happened in that forest.

Madge's heart sank. She tried to shake the thoughts of Gale and those fateful two days in the forest away from her. She tried to rationalize with herself, that she was confusing her need for company with a need for _him._

She did everything that she usually did. She sewed and knit. She read. She avoided all talk of the Games, which were dwindling down to the final few. She wanted Katniss to win, especially if Peeta could win with her, but the nagging feeling that Gale would be waiting for Katniss with an open heart, open arms, and open lip - _never mind_ – haunted her. She couldn't help hoping that she and Peeta would move to the Capitol and never return. However, she knew that wasn't true. She knew that they would move to the elaborate Victor's Village, where the omni-drunken Haymitch Abernathy lived. She hoped, maybe, the star-crossed lovers would never fall out of love.

Then she felt stupid for even thinking it.

She absentmindedly performed ordinary tasks. She took the mail. She picked up the telephone, the only one in District 12 besides the ones in Victor's Village. She opened the door.

_She opened the door!_

When she flung open the kitchen door, expecting to see a beggar or something, she was instead confronted by a smirking Gale Hawthorne with a bag full of strawberries.

"Gale," she tried to keep her calm, "what are you doing here?"

"Well, let's see, Undersee. I have, obviously, stopped by for the tea party that I was promised and I offer strawberries."

She crossed her arms, carefully concealing her giddy expression. "Ha ha, very funny."

"I'm a fucking riot, aren't I?" He leaned against the doorframe. He handed her the bag. "You know, usually your father answers the door."

"I – well, I expected. But he's in an important meeting and, well, yeah," she trailed off, losing her collectedness. "How do I pay you?"

He shrugged. "Money."

"Right. Well," she looked around desperately. "There seems to be no money here, and my father said not to disturb him."

"Well," said Gale in almost a teasing voice, "these strawberries will go fast at the Hob. Or get destroyed. These are quality strawberries," he waved them in front of her.

"Alright, listen, I think I have money in my room. Let me go get it. "

"Alright, okay," he stepped in.

"Whoa, whoa, where are you going?" The words tumbled in.

"Oh, I'm sorry, lowly commoners not allowed in the Mayor's domain?" He asked mockingly.

"No, you got it wrong," she shot back, "no _hunters _allowed."

"Well then," Gale replied smugly, "considering I only have strawberries on me, this makes me a gatherer and not a hunter. So technically, I can come in."

She gaped at him. "Fine. But you stay in the living room."

"Actually, Miss Undersee, I have to see my money to make sure you didn't counterfeit it."

"You trusted my father with your money!" She protested.

"Yeah, but he's the Mayor."

Madge spluttered. "You're a walking contradiction!"

Gale stepped in fully and grinned down at her. "No one ever said I wasn't."

"You better shut up or else you can walk out of here with your berries!"

"Ooh, blackmail," Gale said, shaking the hair out of his gray eyes. "Nice place. Sell your soul to get it?"

"My father sold it to Panem."

To her surprise, Gale let out a low chuckle. "Lead the way, tour guide?"

Madge's heart pounded as they ascended the stairs to her bedroom. There was going to be a _boy _in her bedroom. _Gale. _She suddenly realized how tall and strong he was, and how she wouldn't protest if – _don't even think about it! _Panic suddenly set in, and she blocked the entrance to her room.

"Never mind," she squeaked, "you can't come in."

Genuine bafflement crossed Gale's face. "The hell you smoking, Undersee?"

"Uh, uh," she searched her mind for an answer. "I, uh, just remembered, I didn't make my bed. Yeah."

Gale gave her a thorough once-over that made her cheeks burn. Then, slowly, his lips parted in a grin.

"You don't want me in your room because you're scared I'll do something to you, aren't you?"

"No!" She said, a little too loudly.

"It's fine," he grinned. "I like watching you squirm."

"So you won't come in?" She asked tentatively.

"No. I'll stand in the door frame like a good little boy," he smiled and arched one eyebrow at her teasingly. "You know, if you were going into _my _bedroom, I'd let you in-"

He stopped abruptly.

"Never mind," he couldn't contain his laughter. "Get the sonofabitch money, will you?" He told her the amount of money to get and promised her he wasn't swindling her out of money.

Madge couldn't take the amounts of rouge on her face. She felt like a little kid, and searched frantically for the money, too aware of his eyes watching her every step.

"Here," she said, sort of relieved when she found the money and carefully put it in his hand.

"Well _thank _you," he said, jangling the money in his pocket.

"Where are the rest of the woodland creatures you slaughtered?" Madge raised an eyebrow at him.

"I gave them to my mother a half-hour ago, which means that by this point, all my little brothers and sisters will have devoured the food," he said loftily.

"So what will you eat?"

He shrugged. "Maybe I'll feel elaborate and treat myself to a wild dog soup at the Hob."

Madge wrinkled her nose and Gale laughed.

"Maybe," Madge said tentatively, "You could stay for supper."

"What?" He gasped. "Sit with the Mayor, Mrs. Mayor, and yourself for supper? I couldn't. I'm not worthy."

"Shut it," she half-glared at him. "My mother doesn't eat dinner. She has perpetual headaches. My father, as I clearly pointed out, is in a meeting and won't be coming out till tomorrow. So it's just me."

"Just you?" Gale tapped his chin with his finger. "Well, what's in it for me?"

"A hot meal," she shot back.

"Good enough," he smiled lazily and sat down at her table. "What's for dinner, dollface?"

"Don't call me that."

"I will."

"Fuck you."

"I'm rubbing off on you!" Gale said gleefully. "You cursed!"

Just to affirm his point, she repeated those two choice words. "What do you want for dinner?"

"Choices, choices. I don't know, surprise me."

Before he knew it, there was a plate of seasoned meat and wild rice on his plate. "Well, well, well. You cook?"

"No," she admitted, "but these were pre-cooked. All I had to do was heat them up."

He took a bite. "It's good. Who did cook then?"

"The housekeeper," Madge admitted. "She's on vacation this week, but she left us all the pre-cooked meals."

"The housekeeper. The housekeeper. The housekeeper," Gale continued turning the word over in his head by repeating it. "You certainly live the charmed life, don't you?"

"Far from it. Just because I get a few luxuries, it doesn't mean that I live the _charmed life._ Who even says things like that anymore?" Madge sat down across the table from him.

"I do," he smiled as he finished up his food. "Problems?"

"You're a jerk," she said, surprisingly herself by her sudden carelessness with words. "You know that?"

"Yeah? You're a brat, you know that?" He smirked at her.

"You're a foul-mouthed, fire-tongued… poopyhead."

"Poopyhead? So mature, Margaret. So mature. You're a prissy excuse of a District Twelve-er."

"Don't call me Margaret, Galeworth."

"What?" Gale cut her off, laughing. "My real name isn't Galeworth. It's Gale," he started choking on his own laughter, and Madge was forced to bring him water.

"I bet you're real name is actually like _Swamp-Thing_, and you just use Gale to be cool."

"No, my name is Gale because I was born during a wind-storm."

"Uh huh, sure," Madge continued eating. "Galeworth."

"Fuck off." He said, but he didn't say it with malice or even anger. He just said it, his eyes almost dancing with mischievousness. "Thank you for dinner. How can I repay you?" he said, standing up.

"Oh, it was no problem. Don't pay me back."

"Oh, don't worry, I'll repay you somehow," he shot her a half-smile.

She shook her head and walked him to the door. He opened the backdoor and suddenly stopped, grinned, and then, before she could figure out what was happening, he kissed her full on the mouth.

"What was that for?" She said, half-startled.

"I'm repaying you."

She was totally open-mouthed, and he laughed when he saw her facial expression.

"Gale Hawthorne, you're infuriating," she called out as he walked off.

"Madge Undersee," he smiled cockily, "I'll see you tomorrow."


	6. Chapter 6

I want to give every person who reviews, alerts, or favorites this story a huge hug! Thank you so much for all the feedback!

I do not own the Hunger Games, Gale Hawthorne, Madge Undersee, etc. All rights reserved.

-x- 

_Madge Undersee, _Madge warned herself sternly as she looked at herself in the mirror, _Do not get disappointed if this boy doesn't show up. If he doesn't… well… maybe he came to his senses. But if he _does,_ treat him with kindness and respect and lo-__**Alright, that's enough conversations with my inner self.**_

She glanced at the huge clock, which kept ticking and tocking in an infuriatingly calm fashion. _11:11 A.M.  
><em>

_Alright, _Madge said to herself silently, _I should wish for happiness and strawberries and for my father to stop talking to the other Mayors and for my mother to get better and Peeta to get out of the Games alive _(she hated herself for subconsciously excluding Katniss) _and everything, but right now, let me ask for Gale. Let him not stand me up._

She sat down primly on the edge of her bed and then stood up and walked to the mirror, fixing her blonde ringlets.

She then stepped away, disgusted with herself for caring about her appearance so much when he obviously would notice. _Then again, _she stole another look at herself, feeling like a narcissist and a priss, _let him eat his heart out._

Madge wandered up and down the stairs, ate lunch, read, pretended not to be looking at herself in the mirror, wondered if he had been caught by the fence or the Peacekeepers or the Capitol or Katniss.

_KATNISS?_

Had she come back, dragging Gale Hawthorne to the forest with her so that they could run away and get married and procreate and have attractive babies with gray eyes and dark hair? __

Before her poise and rationality could seize her mind again, she flicked on the television, which was turned on, as it had been for the last two weeks, to the Games. Peeta and Katniss were in some cave, feeding each other some luxurious-looking food. She turned it off in disgust and glanced at the clock again. _3:33 P.M. _

_What if he had been joking?  
><em>

What if he showed up sometime within the last week, careless as can be, slugging a knapsack around his shoulder, grinning like a Cheshire cat? What would she say? She put her forever eager mind on hold and continued pacing and reading long, boring, tedious novels and eating dinner and ignoring her sinking heart.

_11:04 P.M._

He wasn't coming.

She tried to lie to herself that she wasn't upset or disappointed. She clambered upstairs and sat on her bed, pulling off her clothes and slipping into her pajamas. She laid awake for a long time, wondering why he hadn't showed up.

And then, suddenly, the branch outside her window started smacking it with a vengeance.

Madge looked outside reflexively, curiously noting that the tree was quiet and the wind was practically non-existent.

Another sound came from her window.

Carefully and cautiously, she pulled the sheets off her body, got out of bed, and traipsed over to the window. She looked down and- clichéd as it was – he was throwing rocks at her windows.

She opened the window and stuck her blonde head out, hoping his eyesight was good enough that he wouldn't throw another rock at her direction.

"Gale Hawthorne," she scolded him, secretly thrilled, "What the _hell _are you doing outside my window at 11 o'clock?"

"What happened, Undersee?" He said, and even though it was too dark to see anything but his outline, she could hear him grinning. "You thought I went back on my promise? Please, dollface."

"Gale, don't call me that," she said dismissively.

"Alright, honey bunches."

"Get the fuck off my lawn."

Gale pretended to sniffle. "What happened, babycakes? You don't want me cluttering up your perfectly manicured grass?"

"No, that's not it… it's just… late and you're outside."

"Well then, sugar lips, invite me in."

She was half-furious with him for calling her all these names, and she let out an exasperated sigh.

"Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair," he called out, pretending to be valiant.

"Where's your white horse?"

"Pawned him to get food."

"Where's your sense of romance, Galeworth?"

"Who said I'm trying to be romantic?"

"Well," she started, leaning her elbows on the windowsill. "You _are _throwing rocks at my window and you just compared me to Rapunzel."

"Hey, hey, hey, listen here, Blondie. I can compare you to the Witch who locks her in the tower and throw boulders at your door instead."

"Point taken. Now shoo, Hawthorne."

"You should be lucky that I can't climb trees too hotly, or else I'd be climbing in your window and shit."

"Well, then, I'm counting my blessings as we speak."

"I'm certainly a blessing."

"Yeah, well, a mixed one at best," Madge couldn't stop her stupid grin from spreading.

"Fuck off. Come on," he whined some more, bringing a smile to Madge's face, "either come downstairs or I'm going up."

Madge looked around. The streets looked quiet and desolate.

She huffed. "I'll be down in a jiffy."

"A jiffy?" Gale snorted. "Alright then, you're certainly the _cat's pajamas_."

"I hate you."

"You love me. You can't stand it but it's true. Why? Because I'm _the bee's knees._ Get your ass down here."

As she dressed, Madge went over every word of their conversation. She reminded herself not to get over-excited, checked herself in the mirror, and smiled.

_She was ready._

She quietly tip-toed downstairs, knowing that it wouldn't make a difference. Her mother was perpetually zonked out on pills and her father was an amazingly deep sleeper. Still. She liked the idea of sneaking out, almost at midnight.

Madge slowly eased the door open, slipping through the smallest crack possible, and then closed the door slowly. She whipped her head around, looking for Gale, suddenly aware of the darkness and solitude of the street. She looked around and then up at the full moon.

"Gale? Gale?"

Suddenly, two hands wrapped around her head, covering her eyes. Madge let out a shriek, causing the hands to retract themselves.

"Oh, Undersee. Calm down. Big, strong, valiant-"

"-humble-" Madge interrupted with a grimace.

"Gale Hawthorne is here to save you," he smiled, his eyes flickering in the darkness of the night.

"Shut up. Why would you come to my house in the middle of the night to bring me outside?" Madge demanded.

"Well," Gale said breathily, leaning on her shoulder and enjoying her discomfort, "we could always go back _indoors _and," he gave her a huge, sloppy kiss on the cheek. "You know?"

"Ew. No. Get over yourself." Madge shoved him off. "Do you honestly believe that any girl would actually say yes?"

"Absolutely."

"Galeworth, you are majorly screwed up in your perception of things."

Gale pretended to consider this. "Yeah, I might be. Now come on," he waved her towards the left.

"Where are we _going_?" Madge asked for what might have been the hundredth time. "I shouldn't trust you."

"No, you shouldn't," Gale chuckled, "but you did, and now you're screwed."

Madge fumed. Gale grinned.

"Don't worry, _Maggie_," he said, earning himself a death glare from Madge. "We're going to the Meadow. I thought we could have a picnic."

"Gale," she said, exasperated, following him. "It's midnight."

"Perfect eating time," he replied mildly. "Now, I have to just stop at my house to get the food. I didn't want the basket making a huge noise that would wake the whole fucking neighborhood when I went to get you."

Madge couldn't hide the fact that she was secretly thrilled that he would come get her at midnight to have a picnic.

"Wanna come inside?" Gale said seductively.

"And run the risk of being at your mercy? No thank you," Madge said, crossing her arms and smiling.

"Your loss," Gale smirked. "I'll only be a minute."

He disappeared inside his house, leaving the door ajar. Madge looked around the Seam.

"Hey gorgeous."

She turned around to see two guys, both about her age, or a little older. Both were heavily built. Both appeared heavily intoxicated. Both were smirking at her. Madge ignored them, hoping that they would leave.

"What happened, pretty girl? Too good for us?" The other one ran his fingers through Madge's hair, causing her to jump.

"Don't touch me," she said through gritted teeth, inching her way to the door.

"Oh, what happened?" The same guy grabbed her hard, by the waist, and pulled her closer. "We're not that bad, honest. Give me a kiss and I swear, I'll leave you alone. Promise."

"NO. LET GO!" Madge shrieked, looking around, pummeling at this guy with her fists. The other one immediately clasped a hand on her mouth, stifling her screams.

"GALE. GALE." She said, muffled by the guy's hand.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON OUT HERE?" Gale yelled, coming outside. "GET THE FUCK OFF HER."

Before Madge could even fight anymore, she heard a loud thump and realized Gale had punched one of the guys, the one holding her, in the jaw, allowing her to slip away.

"What the _fuck_, Thomas" Gale snarled at the other one. "Get the fuck away from her. You say one more thing to her or touch her one more time and I swear to you, you son of a bitch, I will fucking assure myself that you are six feet under in no time."

"Hawthorne, is this your piece of ass or what? She obviously doesn't put out." Thomas scoffed.

Gale suddenly tackled him to the ground, two seconds away from choking him, fingers pressed up against his throat.

"Alright, alright," Thomas choked out. "LET GO. WE WON'T. DO. ANYTHING."

Gale gave a final squeeze for good measure and then stood up, watching them both writhe in pain.

"Now get the fuck away from my house."

The boys uneasily got to their feet and scampered. Gale watched them go. "Fucking bastards." He turned to look at Madge.

Her eyes were brimming with tears, and she was trembling like a leaf falling from a tree. Her legs wobbled and she crossed her arms across her chest to keep her hands from shaking like mad.

"Come here," Gale said, opening his arms. "Are you okay?"

Madge found the strength to carry herself over to Gale. Instantaneously, his arms wrapped around her, and soon, she found herself sobbing on his shoulder.

"It's okay, I promise. You're shaking. Are you cold?" He slipped off his jacket and slipped it on her shoulders before she could even object.

Madge was still speechless, the tears running down her cheeks more from shock than from anything else.

"Listen, those guys are assholes and were wasted. Don't pay attention to them. They won't be back to bother you, and if they ever even _look _at you, you can come tell me."

Madge replied by burying her face in his shirt.

They stood there, for who knows how long, in that position.

"Listen, Madge," Gale said softly, surprising Madge with the sudden use of her first name. "Maybe this can wait another day. Maybe tomorrow. Right now, I need to get you home."

Madge nodded, but looked at her legs and saw that they were still like jelly.

"Okay, you're obviously not going to be able to walk like this, so," Gale suddenly swooped her up, carrying her towards the direction of her home.

"Gale," Madge asked. "Why are you being so nice to me?"

"Don't question it, okay? Maybe I'm trying to save the damsel in distress. Sure, there was no saber-toothed tiger, but this is enough."

Madge just shook her head at him.

They finally reached her house and Madge awkwardly climbed off him.

"I'm sorry about tonight," Gale said.

"It's okay. Thank you for saving me."

"Thank you for coming."

"Thank you for remembering."

"Thank you for not reporting me to the authorities for coming around so late at night."

"Thank you for planning this."

"Thank you for being good company."

"Thank you for being my friend."

"Thank you for saving us that day in the Meadow."

"Thank you for-"

Madge, however, never got to answer, because before she could open her mouth, Gale leaned in and kissed her intensely. Madge stumbled a little and wrapped her arms around his neck. After five or ten minutes, Gale broke away.

"Listen, Undersee, you should get to bed before the Mayor comes out, shoots me, and puts my head above your fireplace."

"Shut up. No one would want to see your head anywhere."

"I can imagine one place-" Gale cut himself off, laughing hysterically at his double-entendre.

Madge flushed when she figured it out, and her mouth dropped open.

"Listen. Tomorrow I'll come back while the sun is still up, alright?"

"I bet you come at the crack of dawn."

"Well dammit, Madge," Gale grinned at her cockily. "Why do you keep figuring out all my surprises?"


	7. Chapter 7

Sorry for the late update! Time kind of crept up on me :p

I know I must sound like an overly-repetitive machine at this point, but I honestly can't tell you how big my smiles are when I check my mail and see all these notices from FF. To every reviewer, alerter, favorite-er, reader, etc: THANK YOU SO MUCH.

I do not own The Hunger Games or any related characters. All rights reserved.

-x- 

Rain and wind splashed down on District 12, washing away some of the soot, at least for the time being. The powerful water poured down on the district, leaving the streets practically empty. As the wind howled and slammed repeatedly against the windows, Madge Undersee knew she had more important things to be thinking about: for example, she could have been wondering if her mother, suffering from a severe headache, had made it to Ms. Everdeen for her cure; she could have been wondering if her father had safely made it to District 11, to meet with the mayor. However, all she was thinking about was a certain gray-eyed, dark-haired _scoundrel _with a taste for danger and wit.

She was furious with herself for even thinking about him.

Busying herself with brushing crumbs off the table, she allowed her mind to wander. Normally, she would automatically assume that he wouldn't show up. However, at this point, she had learned not to assume anything when it came to Gale Hawthorne.

Surely enough, an hour later, she heard a brisk knocking at her door. Her heart sped up and she tried to steady herself, just in case it wasn't him.

_Who else would it be? _

"Who is it?" She called out tentatively, awaiting an answer.

"Me."

The husky voice that she had grown to know, love, and _whoa, did I just say love? Never mind. _Madge decided to continue pressing for an answer.

"Who is it?"

"Prince Charming."

"Who _is _it?"

"Fuck it, Undersee. I told you, it's Prince Charming. Now open up the fucking door before I decide to go eat my pumpkin carriage."

Madge flung the door open. "Oh. It's you." She tried to make her voice contemptuous and disdainful.

"Yes," Gale said, shaking his soaked hair. "It is I! Come give me a hug!" He trilled sarcastically.

Madge stepped away from him .

"Ah, Gale, you're all wet."

"Yes, I am. But the question is, _are you wet_?" He winked at her mischievously and threw his jacket against a wall with a satisfying splat.

"Oh God, don't make me kick you out."

"Don't make me leave before you get a chance to."

They glowered at one another, and Gale slowly turned his grimace into a huge, toothy grin.

"Well, _pal_," he slapped her on the shoulder with an air of camaraderie. "What are we going to do? There's a mild drizzle and a breeze outside."

Madge looked out her wind to the heavy winds and pouring rain, then turned back to him to frown.

"I, I-" Madge began.

"Like to stutter?" Gale shot back. "Eloquence is obviously not one of your strong suits."

"Funny, I didn't even know you _knew _the word eloquence."

"I don't." His mouth widened into a huge grin.

Madge stared at him blankly. "You're an idiot."

"We live in District 12."

"What?"

"I'm sorry, I figured we were talking about obvious things. I was about to point out that my name is Gale and your name is Madge. I guess the game is over," he arched his eyebrows smugly.

"You…you…" Madge threw her hands in the air and scrambled over to her couch, burying her face in a pillow.

"What happened, Margie?"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT."

"Fine. Whassamatter?" He ran all the words together and then slid down on the couch next to her with a large, lazy grin.

"You're infuriating, Galeworth." She put her face in her hands.

"There, there," Gale cooed in a faux-tender voice. "That's not very nice…You shouldn't say things like that to your best friend, you know."

Madge was truly at a loss for words. "What?"

"You mean we're not besties? We can't paint each other's nails and gossip about the hottest boy at the slag pile – oh wait, I forgot that _I _am the hottest boy at the slag pile."

"Narcissist."

"Party pooper."

"Ego-centric bastard."

"Prissy…priss."

"Oh, that's such a nice insult."

"Can you blame me? I'm one of these here common folks," he pretended to pick at his teeth with his fingers. "My vocabulary is limited."

She shoved him to the side. Of course, he didn't budge, considering that he weighed almost twice as much as she did.

"You're ridiculous," she murmured.

"I know," he planted a kiss on the top of her forehead.

A familiar warming tingle rushed throughout her body, and she resisted the urge to shiver. Gale wrapped his warm arms around her and gently pulled her closer until she was practically sitting on top of him.

"What are you doing?" She said, her eyes still closed, just in case this was a practical joke or a dream. She didn't want him to see her flitting blue eyes.

"What do you think I'm doing?"

Madge pondered the question. "Is that a trick question?"

He replied by tilting her head slightly towards him and kissing her. As she was lost in the muddled clouds of her own thoughts, she suddenly broke away.

"Why are you doing this?" She blurted out.

"Well, I've seen it all! A woman who doesn't want Gale Hawthorne!" Madge's eyes narrowed, and he smiled at her. "Well, I guess it has something to do with those two bozos yesterday."

He stopped, not willing to offer up any more information.

"And?" Madge pressed.

"Well. You know. I realized if anything happened to you, I'd care," he muttered gruffly. "I mean, almost care. You know what I mean?"

"No, Mr. Galeworth, I don't have any clue what you mean."

"Dammit, Undersee," he growled, "Are you going to make this difficult for me?"

"Maybe I want to make it difficult for you."

"Are you playing hard to get?"

"And if I am, is it any business of yours? Do you care? Do you want to get me? Do you get hard to get me?"

Gale laughed.

"You seriously have been spending way too much time with me, princess."

"Don't call me that," she said warningly as his arms went back around her. "Getcha hands offa me if you're going to call me princess."

"Fine, fine." Gale obliged. "You can be my queen, then. Queen Margaret-"

"_Gale._" Madge gave him a look.

"Fine, fine. Duchess?"

"No."

"My lady?"

"No."

"Hobo?"

"_What?_"

"Just making sure that you can say something besides no. Now, Undersee, is that all?" He gave her a look and she smiled.

"Yes, that's all."

"Good." He started kissing her again. This wasn't like the kisses before, that had been sloppy on purpose or light or even… dare she say it… cautious. This was pressing and warm, firm and gentle, and surprising even though she knew it was coming. She was kissing Gale Hawthorne.

_I am kissing Madge Undersee._

If you had told Gale this three months ago, he probably would have laughed hysterically and then punched you in the jaw for being stupid. He couldn't believe it. He remembered that scared, timid little girl he had met just a few weeks ago in the forest. Her wriggling underneath the fence in the Meadow. The horrified look on her face as he skinned the rabbit. Being trapped with her in the forest, her heart beating quickly as she looked at him, waiting for him to come up with an escape route. Him coming by with the strawberries. Her not letting him into her room. Him coming to her near midnight. Her horrified but pleased face as she threw the window open. Her light footsteps as they treaded on the gravel of District 12. Those bastards trying to fuck with her. Her terrified face buried in his shirt. Showing up here. The way that her hair was always let loose, those blonde curls blowing in the wind. The way that her blue eyes shifted from side to side, like she was searching her mind for an answer and couldn't make direct eye contact with anyone until she figured out what she was looking for. The way that she laughed, airy and light. The sexier tone she took on whenever she volleyed his sarcasm back at him. The way that her finely-made clothing clung to her lithe body. Those three freckles she had at the nape of her neck, that he always noticed but never found as devilishly entrancing as he did right now.

As Gale started to kiss her neck, Madge found herself dumbstruck at the procession of events. From that one eventful day in the forest to now. She dreamily wondered what would happen next. Maybe they'd run off together, kiss and kiss and – _stop right there. _She blushed as she found herself going off into R-rated daydreams, and she shook her head.

"What happened?" Gale looked up at her. "Problems?"

"None."

"Good, because I wasn't stopping anyways."

He continued kissing up her neck.

Madge rolled her eyes at him and continued daydreaming. Maybe one day, she would convince him to take her to one of those town dances she had invented in his mind. They'd become rich and powerful one day, doing something. They could get married with her father's blessing, and have an elaborate Capitol wedding. They'd move to the Capitol and have little dark-haired children with gorgeous eyes. They could grow older together and never look back. They could-

The television suddenly flickered on with a vehement coloring, to the one and only channel allowed at this time of the year.

The two broke apart to look at the screen. It was Katniss. And Peeta. And Cato, the remarkably brutal tribute from another district. These odd-looking dogs were pouncing on him. The camera occasionally flashed up to Peeta, who was bleeding like mad, and Katniss, who was exhausted but still alive. The screams were awful. Cato was screaming and crying and begging for mercy. Madge winced. After a while, the cannon finally roared. There was a pause.

Finally, after a heart-wrenching moment, the announcer of the games officially declared that the previous rule, which would have allowed both Peeta and Katniss to come back home together, has been revoked.

Gale couldn't breathe,

Madge forgot how to move.

Silently, they watched the two pull the most defiant movement ever seen in the games, threatening to commit suicide so that one of them wouldn't be the winner. They dangled the nightlock above their open mouths, when the announcer hastily announced that the rule was back in place, that they are both winners. They could both live.

A scream was heard. Loud claps and hoots.

After dousing themselves with water to assure themselves that they weren't going to die, and checking to make sure that neither of them had eaten the nightlock, the screen went to Katniss screaming Peeta's name as they were both hauled off. The screen went black. In dark letters, the screen blinked:

_Congratulations to Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark,  
>The Victors of the 74<em>_th__ Hunger Games. _

Gale was immobile as a statue. "Katniss is alive," he mumbled under his breath.

"She is."

Madge couldn't resist peeking over at his white face, grim with concentration.

_What now? _


	8. Chapter 8

I really cannot believe that it has been months since I last updated. My greatest apologies go to everyone who was waiting on me to update! Thank you, as always, to the reviewers, alerters, favoriters, and readers. I believe that this is going to be the last chapter! Thank you to everyone =)

I do not own The Hunger Games or any related characters. All rights reserved.

-x-

Madge Undersee stared straight ahead at the television, willing it to shut off, to go away, to succumb to an electrical death, to do _anything _other than to proclaim Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark's dual victory in the large font and colors reserved for news coming from the government of Panem.

She refused to turn around and face Gale Hawthorne, who had gritted teeth and was staring at the television, his face an eerie mixture of relief and regret.

They sat there in uncomfortable silence, listening to the howling wind outside and ferocious pound of the rain on the roof. The elements, however, only barely muffled the cheers of District 12 and the toasts of water and cheap liquor to Haymitch Abernathy, Katniss, and Peeta.

Madge looked at the clock, a luxury in District 12. Twenty minutes, approximately, had passed since the announcement.

"Thanks for letting me in. I should probably get moving, shouldn't I?" Gale mumbled, standing up. He didn't dare look her in the eyes, and for some reason, this fact fueled Madge's astonishment and shock into anger.

"Shouldn't you? _Shouldn't you?_" Madge couldn't resist screeching. "So that's it, Gale? That's it? What am I? Was I a toy to amuse you while your precious girlfriend was off screwing the baker's son on national television? Was I just someone to whittle away the hours as you tried to stop having Katniss-related wet dreams? What am I, Gale? You fucking leave the second that they announce that Katniss and Peeta win? Because that's what men do, right? All that bullshit about protecting me from those two losers, that's all a lie. Because you know what, if you knew that this would happen if Katniss won, you should have fucking protected me from yourself. Go ahead. Leave. Everyone does."

Miserably enough, her released anger and frustration managed to force her to release angry tears. Gale moved toward her, to try to comfort her, but she turned sharply away.

"I said _LEAVE_," she shouted, putting her face in her hands.

She felt his gray eyes boring into her, studying her as she silently raged and sobbed into her hands, finally turning away from him.

"Leave, Gale. I never want to see you again. Just…just…get out of my sight."

"Is that the truth?"

Speaking for the first time in over a half an hour, his voice was a little crackly. He cleared it and then looked her right in the eyes.

She quivered, her brain daring her heart daring her mouth to nod and say "yes" with a vehement voice. She had obviously forgotten the passcode to her own mouth, and so she was left saying nothing, looking at him with defiant, angry tears in her eyes.

"I don't, I don't want to go," he said, surprising himself with the quiet pain in his voice.

"Are you sure?" Madge snapped. "You don't want to go prepare a feast in honor of your bride's homecoming?" Her tone was icy.

Gale couldn't resist.

"Well, let's see, Madge, if you knew she was my "bride", does this make you my mistress?"

He smiled at her, to let her know he was joking

At this, Madge found the will to say what she wanted to say.

"Fuck you, Gale Hawthorne. Get the fuck out of my house, get the fuck out of my life. Get the fuck out of here!"

When he didn't seem to get it and didn't move, she lunged at him, pummeling him with her small fists as hard as she could.

"Madge, Madge, I'm sorry, I was joking, I didn't mean it-"

"I DON'T CARE. GO."

She shoved him toward the door.

"Madge, honestly, it was out of place, I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

She looked at him with a hard gaze. "Go back to the gutter, Gale Hawthorne, where you belong."

At this, the look of almost desperate repentance that graced his features turned into a look of dislike, distaste, and disgust.

"As you wish, my queen," he replied, sarcasm coating his every word.

And with that, he stepped out of her house, slamming the door so hard, the vibrations ran up Madge's spine.

She couldn't stand him. She couldn't stand his cocky grins and his attitude and his harsh words and his lack of feeling. She couldn't stand his carefree attitude and the way his eyes shone to make her feel special and how he couldn't look her in the eye and cracked comments up until the very end. She hated his floppy dark hair and his rough hands and his foul mouth that had managed to penetrate her chaste language and his voice and his infuriating habit of showing up out of the blue. She hated his ideas and his thoughts and everything about him.

She hated everything about him.

She hated everything but him.

She loved everything about him.

She loved him.

Outside, Gale kicked the wet stones, ignoring the furious rain. _Go back to the gutter_, she had said with a cruel tone. He couldn't fucking believe her. He was the one who taught her how to insult people.

And how to curse.

And how to hunt.

And how to kiss.

And how to escape her home in the middle of the night.

_Well_, he mused to himself, _at least she didn't call you a bad kisser. Or ugly. _

Oh he'd never darken her doorway in the night, or the day, or anything else, that was for sure. Who needed her? Sure, she was funny, and smart, and had that charming smile and those huge blue eyes and…

Fuck.

Gale stopped suddenly, in the middle of the sad excuse of a road, and looked back at the distant form of her house.

He was in love with her.

He clasped his temples with his hands to keep his brain from sliding out of his ear. He didn't want Katniss. He didn't care about Katniss. She could have her Peeta, he didn't care. He wanted Madge. He wanted the Mayor's Daughter, who had just told him she never wanted to see him again, who had just told her that she never wanted to see his ass again.

In a moment of impatience and impetuousness, he ran back to her home and was about to bang on the door like Tarzan, insisting on having his Jane and having hot, crazy, gorilla make-out sessions.

But at that split second, he couldn't bring himself to do it. He paced outside her doorway.

_What if she was upstairs, watching his desperation?_

Just in case she was looking, he bent over to get a piece of paper from the wet floor so she could check out his fine ass and just maybe run into his arms.

The words were barely legible, and he pressed hard with the charcoal to make the letters slip. Before he lost his nerve, his wit, his mind, he slipped the paper under the door, making sure that it didn't cling to the doorway. Then, before she could come outside to yell at him, he ran off.

Madge heard the shuffling outside the door, but refused to acknowledge the fact that it might be him. Even if it was, she huffed, trying unsuccessfully to convince herself, she didn't care.

The second the noise stopped, however, she raced to the door and saw a soggy piece of paper on the floor.

_Madge-_

_I'm sorry, I am. Honestly. Meet me at the fence tomorrow at 7:30 A.M._

_If you don't show up, I still _–here, there were several crossed out words- _will be there. _

_When I become famous, you should save this piece of paper and sell it at the Hob for millions. _

_I'm sorry, too soon for jokes. _

_Gale _

Her initial anger melted away as soon as she saw her name written in black and white. She couldn't believe that despite his obvious… adoration for… _Katniss Everdeen_, she still missed him. She still wanted his company.

_She still loved him._

The blonde hairs on her arms prickled to think of Gale writing the letter, waiting and hoping that she'd show up. What would she do? She couldn't possibly show up all prim and proper and expect Gale to continue to propriety charade. She half-smiled. Gale was the kind of person who, if Madge ever managed to score a dinner at the Capitol and brought him, would probably loudly remark that all the guests present were vague, vain, and idiotic. He would dump out the fancy, expensive champagne and ask for water – _no, not sparkling, you idiot, regular fucking water. _

"_So Mr. Hawthorne," President Snow would cough, hoping to end the awkward moments, "What do you plan to do with your life?"_

_Gale would take a moment to chew on the meat obnoxiously, playing up the barbarian District 12 citizen angle. President Snow and Mayor Undersee would exchange uncomfortable glances._

"_What any self-respecting citizen of Panem would do, sir!" _

"_And what is that, Sonny?" Snow would smile, straining the muscle around his thin, weirdly-red lips. _

"_Fuck bitches and get money." _

Madge shook her head away from the ridiculous notion, smiling. She couldn't believe him and his audacity. His unpredictability. It drove her crazy.

For the rest of the day, Madge pored over every character he had scrawled in his messy handwriting on the note. She smiled, keeping the secret to herself. It was her secret and Gale's secret – their secret.

After a night of tossing and turning, wondering what would happen at the fence, Madge practically leapt out of bed at the first sign of light. With the issue of her clothes, she was caught between two options: she could either dress sloppily to show him that he had no effect on her or she could dress at her finest and prettiest to make him remember what he would be giving up.

Her vanity got the best of her and she decided on the second option.

As she approached the field, a low but audible wolf-whistle pierced the air and made her stop.

She turned around and saw him, his dark hair flopping into his eyes, his gray eyes sparkling with mischief, and his full lips spread out in a grin.

"Well, well, well."

He walked around her in a circle and Madge's face flushed. She was pleased that he was so impressed.

"Look but don't touch, Galeworth."

"Please, you'll be begging me to touch me within the next half-hour."

"And will you?"

He smirked and said nothing else.

"So what is this little meeting about, Galeworth?" Madge tried summoning up all the haughtiness she could.

"This grandiose meeting of intellectuals? Well, I was hoping that we could discuss the sixth law of Thermodynamics-"

"Gale, there _is _no Sixth Law of Thermodynamics."

"That's what they tell the hoi polloi to keep them from revolting. It's truly something special, the Sixth Law of Thermodynamics."

"Can you tell me what it is?"

"Ah ah ah, no I can't. The First Law of Thermodynamics is that we don't speak about Thermodynamics."

"If you're going to rattle off mumbo-jumbo, I'm leaving Gale," Madge turned around.

"Wait!"

She turned back around.

"Madge," he put his hands on her shoulders, "I'm so, so, so sorry about yesterday. I freaked unnecessarily."

"I'm sorry about yesterday too," she said awkwardly, not being able to meet his gray eyes head-on.

"I honestly don't care about Katniss coming back. I mean, I'm glad that she and the Muffin Man made it back in one piece, but I don't care about her the way I care about you. I never thought I could think this way about anyone, much less the Mayor's daughter-"

Madge shot him a look and he grinned.

"The truth is, Madge, I feel that I've known you for years, and I love being with you. I love your innocence and your sudden, abrupt sarcasm and your humor and you."

Her face broke into a wide smile and her eyes danced as she met his eyes.

"Gale Hawthorne, you softie! The lion tamed! You're like a little bunny now, and I am Diana, the huntress."

She smiled triumphantly. He rolled his eyes and pulled her closer.

"Oh shut up and kiss me."


End file.
